Wireless mobile communicator for contactless payment on account read from removable card

ABSTRACT

A wireless mobile communications apparatus reads removable cards and can communicate an account corresponding to the removable card in order to conduct a wireless transaction with a merchant on the account with the wireless mobile communications apparatus. A total currency amount for the transaction, and remaining balance in the account after the transaction, can be displayed on a display screen of the wireless mobile communications apparatus. The removable card can be a gift card bearing a magnetic strip having an identifier for the account encoded thereto that will be read when inserted into the wireless mobile communications apparatus which can be a cellular telephone or Web enabled portable device. The magnetic strip gift card can be substantially composed of paper so as to be intended for disposable after use.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/088,841 titled “Open Loop Gift Card Loaded to Mobile Telephone toSupport Mobile Payments,” filed on Aug. 14, 2008, which is incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD

The invention is related to a payment processing system in which atransaction between a merchant and a consumer is conducted on an accountissued by an issuer, where the transaction is acquired from the merchantby an acquirer for collection on the account from the issuer through atransaction handler or transaction processor. The invention is moreparticularly related to a transaction on an account, and mostparticularly related to a contactless payment for a transaction on agift card account using a wireless mobile communicator.

BACKGROUND

A gift card is a restricted monetary equivalent that is issued byissuers (e.g.; retailers or banks) to be used as an alternative to anon-monetary gift. A gift card may resemble a credit card or display aspecific theme on a plastic card the size of a credit card. The card isidentified by a specific number or code, not usually with an individualname, and thus could be used by anybody. Gift cards are backed by anon-line electronic system for authorization. Some gift cards can bereloaded by payment and can be used thus multiple times. A gift card mayhave a barcode or magnetic strip, which is read by an electronic creditcard machine. Many gift cards have no value until they are sold, atwhich time an amount is input to a Point of Service terminal (POS) whichthe customer wishes to put into an account corresponding to the giftcard. This amount is rarely stored on the card but is instead noted inthe issuer's database, which is cross-linked to an identifier for theaccount corresponding to the card. Gift cards thus are generally notstored-value cards as used in many public transport systems or libraryphotocopiers, where a simplified system (with no network) stores thevalue only on the card itself. To thwart counterfeiting, the data areencrypted. The magnetic strip can be placed differently than ontraditional debit, prepaid, and credit cards, so they cannot be read orwritten with standard equipment. Other gift cards may have a set valueand need to be activated by calling a specific number.

Gift cards are divided into “open loop” and “closed loop” cards. Theformer are issued by financial institutions (e.g.; banks) or paymentcard companies and can be redeemed by different establishments, thelatter by a specific store or merchant and can be only redeemed by theissuing provider. The giver buys a gift card and the recipient of thegift card would use the value of the card, as reflected by a currencybalance in a corresponding account issued by the issuer, in one or morelater transactions. A third form is the “hybrid closed loop” card wherethe issuer has bundled a number of closed loop cards; an example is agift card for a specific mall.

Gift cards differ from gift certificates, in that the latter are usuallysold as a paper document with an authorized signature by a restaurant,store, or other individual establishment as a voucher for a futureservice; there is no electronic authorization. A gift certificate may ormay not have an expiration date and generally has no administrativefees. Bank-issued gift cards may be used in lieu of checks as a way todisburse rebate funds.

For greater convenience of speed of commerce, consumer transactions withmerchants are increasingly conducted by users of mobile computingdevices, and particularly for conducting contactless transactions withmerchants. In that gift cards are used as standalone portable consumerpayment devices, it would be an advantage in the art to use a mobilecomputing device to conduct a transaction with a merchant on an accountcorresponding to a gift card.

SUMMARY

A wireless mobile communications apparatus reads removable cards havingan identifier for an account encoded thereon. The identifier for theaccount can be communicated to a Point of Service terminal (POS) atwhich there is being conducted a wireless transaction with a merchant onthe account by use of the wireless mobile communications apparatus. ThePOS communicates to the wireless mobile communications apparatus a totalcurrency amount for the transaction, which can then be displayed on adisplay screen of the wireless mobile communications apparatus. A userof the wireless mobile communications apparatus can input data into thewireless mobile communications apparatus so as to indicate the user'sapproval of a withdrawal of the total currency from the account for thetransaction. The approval is wirelessly communicated by the wirelessmobile communications apparatus to the POS or other entity. The approvalmay include data (e.g., a password) to authenticate the user for use ofthe account to conduct the transaction. Upon completion of thetransaction, data representing the remaining currency balance in theaccount after the transaction is wirelessly received by the wirelessmobile communications apparatus from the POS or other entity. Arepresentation of this balance can be rendered on the display screen ofthe wireless mobile communications apparatus. The removable card can bea gift card bearing a magnetic strip having an identifier for theaccount encoded thereto that will be read when inserted into thewireless mobile communications apparatus. The wireless mobilecommunications apparatus can be a cellular telephone or Web enabledportable wireless device or other mobile wireless communicator in thefield of consumer electronics.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will become more apparent from the description set forthbelow when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which likeelements bear like reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an exemplary process for associating anaccount of a gift card with a mobile device, and for thereafter usingthe mobile device to conducting transactions on the account withmerchants;

FIGS. 2-3 depict exemplary payment processing systems for processing anacquired transaction conducted on an account issued to consumer with amerchant;

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary implementation of a kiosk having a userinterface operable by a consumer for obtaining a gift card that includesinformation pertaining to a currency bearing account that can beassociated with a mobile device, and thereafter the mobile device will,in effect, be able transact upon the monetary amount debited to theaccount corresponding to the gift card;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary implementation of the gift card of FIG.4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary environment having aprocess flow of a business model to enroll accounts respectively issuedby an issuer, each account being associated with a gift card, eachaccount being the kind that can be associated with a wireless consumerelectronics device that will then be useable for wireless cashlesstransactions on the account that will be conducted by consumers withmerchants in the environments depicted in FIGS. 2-3 and 14;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart depicting an exemplary method for a person tomake a payment in a cashless transaction to a merchant using thewireless consumer electronics device of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process flow forperson-to-person money transfer services, where a wireless consumerelectronics device, as in FIG. 6, having wireless communicationsfunctionality, is interactively used and by which a transferor may movemoney from the transferor's account to a transferee's account;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart depicting an exemplary method for a person tomake a purchase from a merchant through its Internet e-commerce Webservice in a cashless transaction by interactive use of a wirelessconsumer electronics device associated with an account of a gift card;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart depicting an exemplary method for a consumer tomanage an account issued by an issuer to the consumer by interactive useof a wireless consumer electronics device, where the account is for agift card;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for a consumerto arrange for automatic payments to be made to an account issued to theconsumer by an issuer, where a mobile consumer electronics device havingwireless communications functionality and being associated with anaccount of a gift card is interactively used by the consumer to make thearrangement;

FIGS. 12-13 are flow charts depicting respective exemplary methods bywhich a consumer can have secure communications when conducting afinancially-related transaction on an account of a gift card within apayment processing system using of a wireless consumer electronicsdevice that is associated with the account; and

FIG. 14 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary payment processingsystem within which a mobile consumer electronics device having wirelesscommunications functionality and being associated with an account of agift card can be used by a consumer to conduct a cashless transaction onthe account in the environments depicted in FIGS. 2-3.

DESCRIPTION

In one implementation, a wireless mobile communications apparatus has acard reader configured to removably receive a data bearing card into acard installed position thereof. In this implementation, the databearing card can be a gift card. The wireless mobile communicationsapparatus also has a display screen, an input device, wirelesscommunications apparatus that can be used for wirelessly transreceivingof communications, and memory for storing instructions and data. Thewireless mobile communications apparatus also a computing apparatus.When the instructions in the memory are executed by the computingapparatus, and the card reader is in the installed position thereof, thecard reader reads information encoded in the memory of the data bearingcard, and other operations are performed as follows. An identifier foran account issued by an issuer is derived from the information encodedin the memory of the data bearing card. The wireless communicationsapparatus transmits the identifier for the account. Alternatively, aPoint of Service terminal (POS) can wirelessly interrogate the wirelessmobile communications apparatus to obtain from the identifier for theaccount from the removable card. In response to the transmission, thewireless communications apparatus receives a total currency amount of atransaction with a merchant being conducted on the account by use of thewireless mobile communications apparatus. A prompt requestingauthorization withdrawal of the total currency amount for thetransaction from the account is rendered on the display screen. Theinput device receives, in response to the rendered prompt, an indicatoras to an approval of the requested authorization for the withdrawal ofthe total currency amount for the transaction from the account. A userof the wireless mobile communications apparatus can input datacorresponding to the approval by use of the input device. The wirelesscommunications apparatus is then used to transmit informationcorresponding to the indicator. The wireless communications apparatusreceives, in response to the transmission of the informationcorresponding to the indicator, a remaining currency balance in theaccount, which is rendered on the display screen.

In the forgoing implementation, the card reader can be a magnetic stripcard reader and the data bearing card can be a planar substrate having asurface with a magnetic strip. Alternatively, the card reader can be abar code reader and the data bearing card can be a planar substrate witha surface having bar code thereon, where the information encoded in thememory of the data bearing card is encoded in the bar code. The wirelesscommunications apparatus can include both short range communicationsapparatus and cellular telephony communications apparatus. The shortrange communications apparatus transmits the identifier for the accountand the information corresponding to the indicator. The short rangecommunications apparatus can be configured for communications in a rangeof less than about three hundred meters (e.g.; a communications protocolsuch as Near Field Communications (NFC), Bluetooth, wirelessconnectivity in a local area network (e.g.; Wi-Fi), IrDA,Radio-Frequency IDentification (RFID), a combination of these, etc.) Thedata bearing card can be a substrate that is substantially composed ofpaper or non-plastic card stock where the paper or non-plastic cardstock has a surface on which is situated the memory of the data bearingcard. For example, the data bearing card can have a form of aninexpensive, disposable magnetic strip substantially paper as is typicalof a venue access ticket, such as a ‘MetroCard’ used by the PortAuthority for public transit fares in the New York City area, a riderfare card used for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transmit Authority,the ‘STIF’ fare card used for public transportation access in the Paris,France ‘Metro’ subway, etc.

In yet other variations of the foregoing implementation: (i) thederiving of the identifier for the account issued by the issuer mayinclude decrypting the encoded information read from the memory of thedata bearing card to form the identifier for the account; (ii) the cardreader may be further configured to encode information in the memory ofthe data bearing card, and the received remaining currency balance inthe account can be encoded in the memory of the data bearing card. Inputcan be received from input device to reflect a user's demand to displaythe remaining currency balance in the account, which will be done byreading same from the memory and rendering same on the display screen;(iii) the data bearing card can be a gift card. As such, the card readercan be configured to removably receive the data bearing card in a formfactor comprising a non-reloadable gift card for which the informationencoded in the memory thereof does not include a currency amount or anidentity of a user of the wireless mobile communications apparatus whois conducting the transaction on the account with the merchant. As such,neither the transmitting of the identifier for the account nor thetransmitting of the information corresponding to the indicator includesa transmission of data corresponding to either a currency amount or anidentifier for a cardholder of the gift card. Accordingly, in the casewhere the data bearing card is a gift card, the identity of the personusing the gift card will not be known such that the transaction with themerchant on the account can be anonymous; and (iv) the indicator as toan approval of the requested authorization for the withdrawal of thetotal currency amount for the transaction from the account can be apassword that is required for access to currency in the account. Assuch, the transmitting of the information corresponding to theindicator, as may be input by and known to an owner of the gift card,can include the transmission of the password. The transmitted passwordcan be verified against the account by another entity (e.g., by themerchant, the merchant's acquirer, a transaction handler, the issuer ofthe account, and/or agents of the foregoing), before the transaction ispermitted to proceed with being conducted on the account.

In another implementation, a cellular telephone (‘cell phone’) can havea magnetic strip card reader having a card installed position thereofand be configured for removably installing a planar substrate having asurface with a magnetic strip thereon into the card installed positionof the magnetic strip card reader. In this implementation, the planarsubstrate having the surface with the magnetic strip can be a gift card.The cell phone can include a display screen, an input device (e.g., akey board, microphone, touch screen, etc.), a cellular telephonycommunications apparatus, a short range communications apparatus (e.g.,apparatus for communications in a range of less than about 300 meterssuch as NFC, Bluetooth, IrDA, Wi-Fi, RFID, etc.), memory for storinginstructions and data, and a computing apparatus. When the computingapparatus executes the instructions, and when the magnetic strip cardreader is in the installed position thereof, information encoded in themagnetic strip on the planar substrate is read by the magnetic stripcard reader. Also, there is derived, from the information encoded in themagnetic strip on the planar substrate, an identifier for an accountissued by an issuer. A transmission, using the short rangecommunications apparatus, is made that includes the identifier for theaccount. By way of example, the transmission can be addressed to aMerchant's Point of Service terminal (POS). There is then received,using the short range communications apparatus, and in response to thetransmission of the identifier for the account, a total currency amountof a transaction with a merchant being conducted on the account by useof the cellular telephone. The display screen can then be used to rendera prompt requesting authorization of a withdrawal of the total currencyamount for the transaction from the account. There is then received,from the input device in response to the rendered prompt, an indicatoras to an approval of the requested authorization for the withdrawal ofthe total currency amount for the transaction from the account. Atransmission can then be made, using the using the short rangecommunications apparatus, of the information corresponding to theindicator. In response to the transmission of the informationcorresponding to the indicator, there is then received, using the shortrange communications apparatus, a remaining currency balance in theaccount which can be rendered on the display screen.

In another implementation, a World Wide Web (Web) enabled wirelessmobile communications apparatus can include means for reading a databearing card. For example, the means for reading a data bearing card canbe a bar code reader, a magnetic strip reader, of other card reader fora Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, a smart card, an ‘EMV’ card,etc. In this implementation, the data bearing card can be a gift card.The Web enabled wireless mobile communications apparatus can alsoinclude a user interface having means for displaying (e.g.; a touchscreen, a LCD screen, etc.) and a means for receiving input (e.g.; a keyboard, a touch screen, a microphone, etc.). Means for transreceivingwireless communications over the Internet will also be included with theWeb enabled wireless mobile communications apparatus (e.g., hardwareexecuting software for communications to and from logical Internetaddresses). The Web enabled wireless mobile communications apparatuswill include means for storing instructions and data (e.g., a memoryhardware device) and a computing means for executing the instructions(e.g., a processor executing software). When the instructions in themeans for storing are executed by the computing means, the computingmeans: (i) executes a Web browser providing interactive communicationswith the Web; (ii) when the means for reading a data bearing card is inthe installed position thereof, reads, using the means for reading adata bearing card, information encoded in memory of the data bearingcard; (iii) derives, from the information encoded in the memory of thedata bearing card, an identifier for an account issued by an issuer;(iv) transmits, using the wireless communications apparatus, theidentifier for the account for delivery to a logical Internet address;(v) receives, from a logical Internet address, using the means fortransreceiving wireless communications, in response to the transmissionof the identifier for the account, a total currency amount of atransaction with a merchant being conducted on the account by use of thewireless mobile communications apparatus; (vi) renders, using the meansfor displaying, a prompt requesting authorization for withdrawal of thetotal currency amount for the transaction from the account; (vii)receives, from the means for receiving input of the user interface, inresponse to the rendered prompt, an indicator as to an approval of therequested authorization for the withdrawal of the total currency amountfor the transaction from the account; (viii) transmits, using the meansfor transreceiving wireless communications, information corresponding tothe indicator for delivery to a logical Internet address; (ix) receives,from a logical Internet address, using the means for transreceivingwireless communications, in response to the transmission of theinformation corresponding to the indicator, a remaining currency balancein the account; and (x) renders, using the means for displaying, inresponse the receiving of the remaining currency balance in the account,the remaining currency balance in the account.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary process 100 which begins at step 102 andcontinues to step 104 at which a purchase is made by a consumer of apayment card, such as a gift card. The gift card, which bearsinformation about an account, can be used at any merchant that acceptsthe account (open loop), where the account was issued by an issuer. Thegift can be card be composed physically of paper, non-plastic cardstock, or plastic, or the gift card be virtual and be merely logicallyassociated with the account. In an alternative implementation, the giftcard will have a limited number of merchants that will accept theaccount (closed loop).

At steps 106-108 of method 100, the gift card is associated with amobile device (i.e., 122-128) operating through a wireless system 120.The mobile device can be a cellular telephone, Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA), or World Wide Web (‘Web’) enabled computing devicehaving a client that executes a Web browser to access the Internet andWeb sites on the World Wide Web. In the case where the gift card is amagnetic strip card, a computer chip, an EMV chip, a ‘smart card’, etc.,the card can be inserted, so as to be read, into a card reader slot ofthe mobile device. Alternatively, information about the account of thegift card can also be input to the mobile device via a user input deviceassociated with the mobile device. Thereafter, at steps 110-112, themobile device can use its communications capabilities to complete anassociation with the account of the gift card such that transactions onthe account can be conducted with merchants at various locations by useof the mobile device.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary process for the provision of a service by amerchant to a consumer in authorizing a remunerating electronic paymentby an account holder (p) 208 in conducting a financial transaction withthe merchant (i.e.; a gift card transaction on an account). The diagramof FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary process 200 of a particular financialtransaction system. By way of explanation for the nomenclature ofreference numerals used in the Figures and described in thespecification, a lower case letter in parenthesis is intended to mean aninteger variable having a value from 1 to the capital case of the lowercase letter, which value can be large (i.e., approaching infinity). Thus‘(b)’ is intended to mean that the integer ‘b’ can have a value from 1to B, and ‘(c)’ is intended to mean that the integer ‘c’ can have avalue from 1 to C, etc. As such, drawing elements 204, 206, 208, 210,280, 282, 284, and 286 in FIG. 2 are illustrated with a block, butindicate one or more elements can be present. For example, Issuer (j)204 is one of a possible plurality of issuers, where j may range from 1to a large integer.

A gift card, seen at reference numeral 290) is obtained, such as will bedescribed below as to FIGS. 4-5, by an Account holder (p) 208 whoassociates at arrow 258 a the account thereof with a mobile device 290that includes a client-executing wireless mobile computing apparatus 294having a card reader 292 for reading a card. By way of alternativepossible examples, and not by way of limitation, card reader 292 canread a gift card, a debit card, a credit card, a prepaid card, etc.

By way of alternative possible examples, and not by way of limitation,the form factor of the cards that the card reader 292 can read include:(i) a memory storage card in a non-volatile memory card format as issuitable for use in portable devices; (ii) a smart card, EMV card, chipcard, or integrated circuit card (ICC); (iii) a thin substrate cardbearing a data-encoded magnetic stripe, where the card may be composedof non-durable materials intended to be disposable such as paper orpaper-like products; (iv) a PC Card such as a Personal Computer MemoryCard International Association (PCMCIA) card; (iv) a removableSubscriber Identity Module (SIM) card, etc. The memory storage cardimplementation will preferably be a flash memory card, and willpreferably conform to a Secure Digital (SD) card standard or extensionthereof. The smart card implementation will preferably be a card havingembedded integrated circuits which can process data. The SIM cardimplementation will preferably conform to a SIM card standard orextension thereof, including a card having a width of 25 mm, a length of15 mm, and a thickness of 0.76 mm.

In one implementation, the client-executing wireless mobile computingapparatus 294 is a cellular telephone having an integrated card reader292 that reads a region of a card that bears data that encodes aspecific number or code that identifies an account issued by a merchantor a financial institution (e.g., a bank). Data encoded on the card,which will be preferably encrypted, will not identify the card holder.The encoded data may be in the form of a barcode, a magnetic strip, orother data encoding memory structure that can be read by card reader292. Preferably, the card will have no value and will not be a storedvalue card. Rather, the card will have redeemable value when sold by amerchant to cardholder at which time the merchant enters a currencyamount for which the card is to be redeemable. The currency amount,however, will not be stored on the card. Rather, the currency amountwill be stored in a database controlled by the issuer of the account, oragent thereof, that is identified by the encoded data on the card. Assuch, the database is cross-linked to the account.

At arrow 258 b, Account holder (p) 208 wirelessly communicates using themobile device 290 with a Merchant (m) 210 so as to make a tender for afinancial transaction on an account for the purchase of goods orservices. The wireless communication will preferably have a range ofless then around 300 meters or 1000 feet. For example, one suchcommunications protocol is Near Field Communication (NFC) which is ashort-range high frequency wireless communication technology whichenables the exchange of data between devices over about a 10 centimeters(around 4 inches) distance. Another example is the ‘Bluetooth’communications protocol which is an open wireless protocol forexchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices Thistechnology, which can connect electronic devices without using a cable,permits the exchange of data at ranges of up to 10 meters.Alternatively, a Radio-frequency identification (RFID) communicationsprotocol can be used which also reading of data from a card from severalmeters away. In still a further alternative, a local area networkwireless communications protocol, such as Wi-Fi, can be used forcommunications having a range of less than about 300 meters.

Those of skill in the art will recognize that other financialtransactions and instruments other than gift cards may also be used,including, but not limited to, a prepaid card and a debit card. Forpurposes of illustration and explanation, however, reference will bemade to a gift card, such as an open loop gift card. Typical of giftscards is that they are not reloadable with additional currency depositsto a corresponding account. The gift card can have a predetermined valuethat is activated by a mobile device (e.g., a cell phone).

By way of alternative possible examples, and not by way of limitation,and as part of the transaction, the Account holder's 208 mobile device290 can be a cellular telephone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), etc.The removable gift card installed in the device 290 is read by a cardreader to obtain there from an identifier for a gift card account.Alternatively, the identifier for the account can be contactlessly readfrom the installed gift card by a wireless or contactless communicationsdevice operated by the merchant (m) 210.

The identifier and other data regarding the account is read from, ortransmitted by, the mobile device 290. A request for authorization,including account related information is transmitted by the Merchant (m)210 to the Merchant's 210 Acquirer (i) 206 (at step 262). Each Acquirer(i) 206 is a financial organization that processes transactions onaccounts for businesses, for example merchants, and is licensed as amember of a transaction handler (TH) 202 such as a credit cardassociation (i.e., Visa Inc., MasterCard, etc.) As such, each Acquirer(i) 206 establishes a financial relationship with one or more Merchants(n) 210.

The Acquirer (i) 206 transmits the account information to the TH 202 (atstep 270), who in turn routes the request to the account holder'sissuing bank, or Issuer (j) 204 (at step 276). The Issuer (j) 204returns authorization information to the TH 202 (at step 274) whoreturns the information to the Merchant (m) 210 through the Acquirer (i)206 (by steps 268 and 266). The Merchant (m) 210, now knowing whetherthe Issuer's (j) 204 account is valid and supports a sufficient accountbalance, may complete the transaction and the Account holder (p) 208 inturn receives goods and/or services in exchange (at step 256). Mostfinancial payment card associations instruct merchants that, afterreceiving authorization, the detailed account information obtained atthe point of sale (e.g., via a magnetic stripe scanner) must be deletedor other which not kept at the point of sale.

To reconcile the financial transactions and provide for remuneration,information about the transaction is provided by the Merchant (m) 210 toAcquirer (i) 206 (at step 262), who in turn routes the transaction datato the TH 202 (at step 270) who then provides the transaction data tothe appropriate Issuer (j) 204 (at step 276). The Issuer (j) 204 thenprovides funding for the transaction to the TH 202 (at step 274) througha settlement bank (not shown). The funds are then forwarded to theMerchant's (n) 210 Acquirer (i) 206 (at step 268) who in turn pays theMerchant (m) 210 for the transaction conducted at step 262 less amerchant discount, if applicable. The Issuer (j) 204, then bills theAccount holder (p) 208 (at step 250), and the Account holder (p) 208pays the Issuer 204 (at step 252), with possible interest or fees.

Each of the Issuer (j) 204, Merchant (m) 210, Acquirer (i) 206 and theTH 202 may have access to information resources having one or more ofthe following databases: transaction database (z) 282, merchant database(y) 284, or account database (w) 280. These databases can be connectedby a network, internet, virtual private network, or by other means knownto those skilled in the art. Moreover, not every participant mustnecessarily have access to any or all of the databases. Each databasecan assign read, write, and query permissions as appropriate to thevarious participants. For example, a Merchant (m) 210 have read accessto the account database (w) 280 and the Issuer (j) may have read andwrite access. Also, the account database (w) 280 may keep the currencybalance of each account corresponding to a gift card, where the accountdatabase (w) 280 is updated as to the currency balance of each accountin real time with each transaction on each gift card account.

The transaction database (z) 282 is designed to store some or all of thetransaction data originating at Merchant (m) 210 who uses a paymentdevice for each transaction conducted between an Account holder (p) 208and the Merchant (m) 210. The transaction data can include informationassociated with the account of an Account holder (p) 208, date, time,and location among other more specific information including the amountof the transaction. The database can be searched using accountinformation, date and time (or within proximity thereof), or by anyother field stored in the database.

The Merchant database (y) 284 is designed to store information abouteach Merchant (m) 210. The Merchant database (y) 284 can containinformation such as the unique identification of each Merchant (m) 210,an identifier for each point of sale device in use by the Merchant (m)210, and location of the Merchant (m) 210.

The account database (w) 280 is designed to store account informationfor payment devices associated with Account holder (p). The accountdatabase (w) 280 can store part or all of an account number, accountinformation, account name, etc. The information from the accountdatabase (w) 280 can be associated with information from the transactiondatabase (z) 282. Other information, accessible through the ‘cloud’ seenin FIG. 2, can be in a database (v) 286.

An Account holder (p) 208 initiates a transaction with a Merchant (m)210 by presenting a payment device at step 258 to the Merchant (m) 210.The payment device is typically presented at the Point Of Serviceterminal (POS) at which data thereon is read. Certain transactioninformation is transmitted from the POS in route to the Merchant's (n)210 Acquirer (i) 206. The transaction information can include accountinformation, account name, transaction balance, transaction time,transaction date, and transaction location. This transaction informationmay be transmitted via a communication medium, where the transmission oftransaction data is between two or more points from the point of origin,such as the point of sale device at the Merchant (m) 210, and theultimate destination, such as the Acquirer (i) 206. These points caninclude, without limitation, from the reader at the POS, the POS at theMerchant (m) 210 and a network router or computer that is connected to anetwork but is housed and maintained by the Merchant (m) 210 and betweenthe Merchant (m) 210 and the Acquirer (i) 206. The communication channelcould be Ethernet, wireless internet, satellite, infrared transmission,or other known communication protocols. Some or all of the transmissionmay also be stored for record keeping, archival or data mining purposes.For example, the Merchant (m) 210 may store transaction data, includingcertain account information in the Merchant's (n) 210 accounts on filedatabase for reuse later.

In this process, transaction information is retrieved from the POS at aMerchant (m) 206. The transaction information is comprised of accountinformation together with other information about the transactionitself: time, date, location, value, etc. Certain of the transactioninformation is considered sensitive information including, withoutlimitation, account number, card verification number, and account name.

FIGS. 2 and 14 include one or more transaction handlers 202, 1406,access points 230, 232, acquirers 206, 1406, and issuers 204, 1404.Other entities such as drawee banks and third party authorizing agentsmay also connect to the network through an access point. An interchangecenter is a data processing center that may be located anywhere in theworld. In one implementation, there are two in the United States and oneeach in the United Kingdom and in Japan. Each interchange center housesthe computer system that performs the network transaction processing.The interchange center serves as the control point for thetelecommunication facilities of the network, which comprise high speedleased lines or satellite connections based on IBM SNA protocol.Preferable, the communication lines that connect an interchange center(transaction handlers 202, 1406) to remote entities use dedicatedhigh-bandwidth telephone circuits or satellite connections based on theIBM SNA-LUO communication protocol. Messages are sent over these linesusing any suitable implementation of the ISO 8583 standard.

Access points 230, 232 are typically made up of small computer systemslocated at a processing center that interfaces between the center's hostcomputer and the interchange center The access point facilitates thetransmission of messages and files between the host and the interchangecenter supporting the authorization, clearing and settlement oftransaction. Telecommunication links between the acquirer (q) 206 andits access point, and between the access point and issuer (i) 204 aretypically local links within a center and use a proprietary messageformat as preferred by the center.

A data processing center (such as is located within an acquirer, issuer,or other entity) houses processing systems that support merchant andbusiness locations and maintains customer data and billing systems.Preferably, each processing center is linked to one or two interchangecenters. Processors are connected to the closest interchange, and if thenetwork experiences interruptions, the network automatically routestransactions to a secondary interchange center. Each interchange centeris also linked to all of the other interchange centers. This linkingenables processing centers to communicate with each other through one ormore interchange centers. Also, processing centers can access thenetworks of other programs through the interchange center. Further, thenetwork ensures that all links have multiple backups. The connectionfrom one point of the network to another is not usually a fixed link;instead, the interchange center chooses the best possible path at thetime of any given transmission. Rerouting around any faulty link occursautomatically.

TH 202 may process a plurality of transactions within the transactionprocessing system 200. TH can include one or a plurality or networks andswitches (ns) 202. Each network/switch (ns) 202 can be a mainframecomputer in a geographic location different than each othernetwork/switch (ns) 202, where ‘ns’ is an integer from one to NS, andwhere NS can be as large as a four digit integer or larger.

Access points 230, 232, which may be dedicated communication systems(e.g., private communication network(s)) facilitating communications274, 276 between the transaction handler 202 and each issuer (i) 204,and) facilitating communications 228, 270 between the transactionhandler 202 and each acquirer (a) 206. A Network 270, via e-mail, theWorld Wide Web, cellular telephony, and/or other optionally public andprivate communications systems, can facilitate communications among andbetween each issuer (i) 204, each acquirer (a) 206, each merchant (m)210, each account holder (a) 208, and the transaction handler 202.Alternatively and optionally, one or more dedicated communicationsystems can facilitate respective communications between each acquirer(a) 206 and each merchant (m) 210, each merchant (m) and each accountholder (a) 208, and each account holder (a) 208 and each issuer (i) 204,respectively.

The Network 270 may represent any of a variety of suitable means forexchanging data, such as: an Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a widearea network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a virtual privatenetwork, a satellite communications network, an Automatic Teller Machine(ATM) network, an interactive television network, or any combination ofthe forgoing. Network 270 may contain either or both wired and wirelessconnections for the transmission of signals including electrical,magnetic, and a combination thereof. Examples of such connections areknown in the art and include: radio frequency connections, opticalconnections, etc. To illustrate, the connection for the transmission ofsignals may be a telephone link, a Digital Subscriber Line, or cablelink. Moreover, network 270 may utilize any of a variety ofcommunication protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP), for example. There may be multiple nodes within thenetwork 270, each of which may conduct some level of processing on thedata transmitted within the transaction processing system 200.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system including anauthorizing agent, in the context of an exemplary system 300, in which aconsumer 320 attempts a purchase on an issued account of a resource froma resource provider 318, where the system 300 includes one or moremobile network operators 314. In addition, system 300 may include ageneral database 316 that includes, among other sub-databases, anaccount database, an issuer database, a merchant database, and anacquirer database.

Consumer 320 installs a removable open loop gift card 322 in a wirelessmobile communications consumer apparatus 324. The consumer apparatus 324may take any of several different forms including but not limited to,for example, a mobile cellular telephone, a key fob on a key ring, aportable computer such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wearablearticle of clothing such as a belt buckle or a wearable article ofjewelry such as a ring, a button, a pin, etc. In the interest ofsimplifying this explanation, unless indicated otherwise, it will beassumed that the consumer apparatus 324 will be referred to as a mobilewireless telephone or ‘cell phone’.

Referring still to FIG. 3, mobile network operator (MNO) 314 providesmobile computing and communication services such as cellular phoneservices, paging services, data transmission services, and so on. In atleast some implementations of the present invention, authorizationentity 312 is linked to the mobile network operator 314 for two-waycommunication. The network operator 314 can communicate wirelessly withmobile phone 324 to provide information thereto and received informationthere from.

Referring yet again to FIG. 3, an authorization entity 312 may be anyentity that authorizes open loop gift card purchases for merchants orother resource providers. For example, in some cases a transactionhandler (i.e. like VISA Inc. and MasterCard) may be exemplaryauthorization entities. In other cases an issuer may operate as anauthorization entity 312. The authorization entity 312 is linked via acomputer network (e.g., the Internet, a private network, etc.) to eachof the merchant POS devices via other system 300 entities (e.g., anacquirer, a transaction handler, etc.) so that the entity 312 andmerchants 318 have two-way communication. As implied by the label, theauthorization entity 312 receives information from the merchant 318associated with an attempted purchase by a consumer 320, verifies that aconsumer account of the open loop gift card used to attempt a purchaseis valid and that the amount of that purchase is acceptable and thenauthorizes the purchase. Where an account is invalid or the value ofcurrency in the account of the open loop gift card is insufficient tocover a purchase, authorization is denied. Hereinafter, unless indicatedotherwise and in the interest of simplifying this explanation, it willbe assumed that a transaction handler is the authorization entity 312.

An exemplary retail transaction occurring within the illustrated system300 begins when a consumer, or account holder 320, wishes to pay forgoods or services from a merchant 318. Merchant 318 subsequentlypresents a total due to the account holder 320 (arrow 325). The merchant318 further generates other financial and non-financial transactiondata. Other possible financial transaction data includes sales tax,applied discounts such as coupons, and the like. Non-financialtransaction data may include the date and time of the transaction,merchant identity, a store identifier, and the like.

Account holder 320 presents to the merchant 318 an account as tender forthe transaction. The account will preferably be that of an open loopgift card removably installed in the cell phone 324. Alternatively, theaccount information can be read into volatile or non-volatile memory ofthe cell phone 324, such as by input into an input device of the cellphone 324 such that the cell phone 324 stores information identifyingthe account associated with the open loop gift card.

After wirelessly presenting the account with the cell phone 324 to themerchant 318, data for the gift card account is transmitted, or isotherwise accessed by, the merchant 318. In one alternative, thecommunication between cell phone 324 and merchant 38 can be madecontactlessly, such as via technology of the payWave™ system, whichemploys radio frequency communications technology to read the datastored in the cell phone 324. The account information, including anaccount identifier, is combined by the merchant 318 with the transactiondata, including a total due, to form an authorization request. Theauthorization request is then transmitted to an acquirer associated withthe merchant 318. Each acquirer is a financial organization thatprocesses open loop gift card transactions for businesses, including themerchant, and is approved by a transaction handler such as VISA U.S.A.,Inc.

The acquirer transmits the authorization request to the transactionhandler, which in turn routes the request to the issuing bank, or issuerof the account. The transaction handler maintains a log of authorizationrequests a consumer database (e.g.; one of the databases 316). Theissuer approves or rejects the authorization request and returns anapproval or rejection message to the transaction handler which relaysthis information to the merchant 318 via the acquirer. The merchant, nowknowing whether the account issued by the issuer is valid and supports asufficient gift card balance, completes the transaction. The accountholder in turn receives the desired goods and/or services in exchange.

Although not illustrated, it is contemplated that two or more open loopgift card account numbers could be associated with the cell phone 324.Similarly, in some cases a single account number of an open loop giftcard may be associated with two or more cell phone 324 (e.g., where aconsumer has both a work mobile phone and a personal mobile phone).

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary implementation of a kiosk 402 having a userinterface operable by a consumer 408 for obtaining a card 412, such asan open loop gift card, for storing a non-refundable monetary amountdebited to an account. The account, which has been issued by an issuer,can then be further associated with a mobile device (e.g., a cell phone)such that the account associated with the mobile phone is useable asnegotiable currency for a transaction with a merchant. Although theimplementation is discussed in regards to a substantially planarlaminated card, one skilled in the art will recognize that other formsof financial transaction tokens could be used in the disclosed method(e.g.; key fob, key ring token, etc.) Also, implementation of theprepaid payment device can assume a form factor and other featuressubstantially like that of a portable consumer payment device, such as acredit or debit card, adapting for instance to requirements of ISO 7810,ISO 7811, ISO 7816, and/or ISO 14443.

The kiosk 402 itself communicates with a database 404 capable of storingand relating information regarding the payment system with which theopen loop gift card is associated. The consumer 408 is presented with aselection various denominations of open loop gift cards from which theconsumer can make the selection by a user interface 406 of the kiosk.The user interface 406 may included a display which can be a touchscreen, a digital electronic display, a projector, a monitor, anycombination of the foregoing, or any other device for the presentationof digital and/or analog information. Additionally, the kiosk 402 mayhave a speaker 410 or other device capable of rendering audibleinstructions and information to the consumer 408.

The consumer 408 makes selections using an input device 416. The inputdevice 416 may be a key pad, a touch screen, a pointing device, an audioinput device, a video input device, a cash bill and/or coin receiver,any combination of the foregoing, or other hardware and/or softwarecombinations capable of receiving and transforming data for use by thekiosk 402. The consumer 408 then uses the input device 416 to select themonetary amount to be credited to an account associated with the giftcard 412, such as an open loop gift card. Choices for the monetaryamount may be presented on the user interface 406 or the consumer maydirectly input the monetary amount using the input device 416. Consumer408 makes a payment for the monetary amount to be credited to theaccount using mechanisms of the kiosk 402 associated with a cashreceptacle 420 and/or a payment device receptacle 418. Thus, consumer408 can make the payment to the account of the gift card 412 using cash,a prepaid spending card, a credit card, a debit card, or a combinationof the foregoing. As mentioned above, the monetary amount credited tothe account can be associated with a cellular telephone (or otherwireless device) by installation of the removable gift card 412 therein.The wireless device can then be used by the consumer 408 for a futuretransaction with a merchant.

After payment, in one implementation, the consumer 408 receives the giftcard 422 from the payment device receptacle 418, which can be both afinancial transaction token reader and a slot from which the gift card412 is ejected from the kiosk 402. Of course, these two mechanisms canalso be separate mechanisms in the kiosk 402. In yet otherimplementations, the consumer 408 may receive the gift card 412 viaanother device, or by later third party delivery to the consumer 408.

Information can be stored on the card 412 regarding the associatedaccount. Preferably, in the case of a gift card, the monetary amountadded by the consumer 408 for a future transaction with a merchant willnot be stored on the card. The information about the gift card accountmay be stored using a magnetic strip, memory in communication with aprocessor and/or other integrated circuit, a contactless datacommunication device, a combination of any of the foregoing, or anyother method and mechanism of storing information on a card.

Referring now to FIGS. 4-5, both a front and rear views (500A, 500B) ofan exemplary gift card 502, such as an open loop gift card, arepresented. Images may be displayed on both sides of the gift card 502,with an image 508A on the front view 500A being either the same as ordifferent from an image 508B on the rear view 500B. By way of example,and not by way of limitation, gift card 502 can be a smart card, such asa EMV card.

FIG. 5 also shows exemplary implementations of a data encoding area ofthe gift card 502. The data encoding area may include an optionalshielding element, which allows desired electromagnetic, optical, orradiative signals to penetrate while protecting the data encoding areafrom physical abuse or damage. The gift card 502 may optionally haveareas outside of the data encoding area shielded from physical abuse orotherwise acceptable forms of electromagnetic radiation. Some of theacceptable signals that are allowed to penetrate the shielding and mayinclude, but are not limited to, signals accompanying a magnetic field,RFID signals, IrDA signals, visible light, invisible light, modulatedlaser, and/or modulated RF communication signals. By way of example andnot by way of limitation, a selective shielding element may comprise aclear plastic shield, conformal coatings, an opaque plastic shield, or aclear thin film, depending on the implementation of the data encodingarea.

Non-limiting examples of the data encoding area are shown at referencenumeral 500, and include a magnetic stripe assembly 510, an antennaand/or transceiver 520, and electrical contacts 540, The magnetic stripeassembly 510 may comprise, in one implementation 510A, a reprogrammablemagnetic stripe 510B that accepts data and/or commands from a processorand formats and renders that data into a form on a magnetic stripe thatis readable by conventional merchant magnetic stripe-reading point ofsale (POS) terminals. In this manner, the processor may program aparticular account for use in a transaction as a function of user inputselecting the account. Alternatively, the processor may erase themagnetic stripe of the assembly 510, rendering the card useless in theevent of its loss or theft. In one implementation shown 510A, themagnetic stripe assembly 510B at least partially slidably moves 510Cinto and out of an assembly of the prepaid payment device 502 (partialview shown), allowing the prepaid payment device 502 to conduct afinancial transaction at a point of sale terminal that includes amagnetic stripe reader.

Also in FIG. 5 is an exemplary implementation of the data encoding areashown as an antenna and/or transceiver 520. The antenna 520 may includecommonly used loop inductors such as the one shown 520A or in thoseshown in related ISO standards for RF-readable smart cards. With such aninterface, account data may be translated, modulated and transmitted ina manner acceptable by an RF contactless merchant POS terminal, a 802.11WiFi or WiMax network, or by a cellular or RF communications network.

External contacts 540 are yet another alternative implementation of thedata encoding area shown in FIG. 5. With the gift card 502 possessingphysical contacts such as an array of conductive pads or shapes 540A,the financial transaction token may be placed in physical contact with amerchant Point of Service (POS) terminal, and the external contacts 540may establish connectivity to the merchant's financial processingsystem. The processor may relay account-related information to themerchant POS terminal through the contact interface, thereby allowingthe gift card 502 to be utilized with the large number of preexistingmerchant POS terminals.

The account of the gift card 502 obtained from the kiosk 402 isthereafter associated with a mobile device. In the case where the giftcard is a computer chip or ‘smart card’, the card can be inserted into acard reader slot of the wireless mobile device. Alternatively,information about the account of the gift card can also be input to themobile device via a user input device associated with the mobile device.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary model 600 for enrolling mobile devices for usein a payment processing system. Account data for an open loop gift cardis input into a wireless client (i.e., an enrolled mobile device) asshown at 616, such as by installation of the gift card into the wirelessclient so as to be read by same. In model 600, a consumer 602 has anaccount of a gift card issued by an issuer 604.

The consumer 602 can use an enrolled mobile device to conduct one ormore transactions with a merchant 612. The merchant 612 submits thetransaction with consumer 602 to an acquirer 610. The transaction issubmitted from acquirer 610 to a transaction handler/payment processor606.

In the enrollment process of model 600, the issuer 604 initiates anenrollment request with consumer 602. The issuer 604 communicates with apayment gateway 608 to facilitate the enrollment using a bulk customerfile upload of a plurality of such consumers 602. The payment gateway608 obtains code for signing a certificate from a certificate authorityin communication with the transaction handler/processor 606. Theacquirer 610 communicates with payment gateway 608 for a submission ofenrollment with a bulk merchant file upload, thereby initiatingenrollment requests for a plurality of merchants 612.

In one implementation, consumer wireless devices with smart cards can bepreinstalled by the manufacturer as shown at box 614, whereby there hasbeen a pre-enrollment for each consumer 602 using such a consumerwireless client 612. Network communication capability is illustrated atcloud 616 showing the capability of over-the-air downloads and upgrades,as well as signed and trusted smart client capabilities. As shown, thenetwork capability extends from cloud 616 with payment gateway 608,consumer 602, consumer wireless client 614, and merchant 612. Paymentgateway 608 may be the centralized gateway that is hosted on behalf ofthe issuer 604 and on behalf of the acquirer 610.

An exemplary method 700 for a proximity payment transaction flow isillustrated in FIG. 7. Account data for an open loop gift card is inputinto a consumer wireless client 702 as shown at 716, such as byinstallation of a removable card into wireless client 702 so as to beread by same. In method 700, the consumer wireless client 702 does aproximity payment with merchant 712. Merchant 712 can participate in thetransaction by using a point of service terminal or using a wirelessclient, or both. The particular communication between merchant 712 andclient 702 will be through the use of a financial application. Themerchant 712 can communicate by using a Near Field Communicationscapability (NFC) or by using Bluetooth communications. Alternatively,the merchant's 712 communication can be OBEX over IRDA, where OBEX is anobject exchange, and particularly a set of high-level protocols allowingobjects such as vCard contact information and vCalendar schedule entriesto be exchanged using either infra-red (IRDA) or IROBEX or Bluetooth.Alternatively, the communication between merchant 712 and consumer 702can be a short message service (SMS) or a combination of NFC andBluetooth, or using a radio frequency identification (RFID). Thefinancial application being conducted in the process flow of method 700can exchange a customer invoice, or a consumer credit card for thetransaction between merchant 712 and consumer 702.

Merchant 712 will communicate with the Internet 717 using a wirelessinternet HTTPS protocol. A payment gateway 708 in communication withInternet 716 will communicate the transaction with an acquirer 710. Theacquirer 710 will communicate with transaction handler/payment processor706. In turn, transaction handler/payment processor 706 will communicatewith the issuer 706 to secure payment for the proximity payment. Thepayment gateway 708 will preferably be implemented through thetransaction handler/payment processor 706. In method 700, consumer 702can choose a default communication protocol for this proximity payment.Advantageously, no special hardware is required by merchant 712 toconduct the proximity payment illustrated in exemplary method 700.Moreover, merchant 712 can download a particular smart client, ifneeded, for participating in the financial transaction over the airthrough Internet 716.

FIG. 8 depicts an interactive method 800 by which two consumers havingrespective wireless clients 802A, 802B can exchange funds from oneaccount thereof to the account of the other. Stated otherwise, method800 is a peer-to-peer or person-to-person money transfer service.Account data for an open loop gift card is input into a consumerwireless client 802 a as shown at 816. This input can be viainstallation of a removable card into wireless client 802 a so as to beread by same.

In method 800, a sender's consumer wireless client 802 a interacts witha User Interface (UI) seen at reference number 820. In UI 820, atelephone number of a telephone or cellular phone corresponding to anaccount that is to receive funds is input into the field labeled as“Receiver ID”. The amount of funds to be transferred, here $200, isentered into the next field. The user would then select the “Next”button on UI 820 in order to proceed along flow arrow #2 to the next UI822. UI 822 provides the details of the person to whom $200 is to betransferred. As such, UI 822 shows that “John Mike” in the city of“Austin” is to receive the $200. If the operator of wireless client 802agrees that the information presented in UI 822 is correct, then theoperator activates the “Send” button and the cellular telephone henbegins a dialogue through process flow #3 with a payment gateway 808.Payment gateway 808 secures an authorization through a transactionhandler/payment processor 806 as well as communicates various financialtransactions on accounts with transaction handler/payment processor 808.

Transaction handler/payment processor 806 communicates with the issuingbank of the consumer by sending a request to make a payment where thatissuer bank is seen at reference numeral 804 a. The particularcommunication between processor 806 and the issuing bank 804 a is forauthorization of a peer to peer payment or a person-to-person payment.Transaction handler/payment processor 806 communicates with thereceiving bank who is the issuer for the consumer who is to receivefunds and is seen at reference numeral 804 b. In particular, transactionhandler/payment processor 806 will credit the account of the consumerwho is to receive funds via a credit transaction to issuer: Receiver 804b.

The issuer bank 804 b communicates with the consumer wireless client 802b. In turn, the issuing bank 804 a communicates with consumer wirelessclient 802 a. As such, issuer 804 a is the issuer of the account for theconsumer that is operating the cell phone 802 a, whereas the issuer 804b issues the account to the consumer who is operating cell phone 802 b.

Once the operator of cellular telephone 802 a confirms informationreceived on UI 822 by operating the “Send” button, method 800 movesthrough process flow 3 for communication with payment gateway 808 asdiscussed above. Thereafter, method 800 moves through process flow #4 toUI 824. At UI 824, a confirmation is rendered on the cell phone 802 a tothe effect that “the amount $200 has been sent to John successfully.”Following this diagnostic rendering on UI 824, the operator of cellphone 802 a can operate the “Next” button on UI 824 to move method 800through process flow #5 to UI 826. UI 826 provides a notificationrendering to be displayed on cell phone 802 b (the receiver's consumerwireless client). This rendering on UI 826 is “Notification: First Name:John, Last Name: Mike, Mobile: 512-003-101”. If the cell phone 802 a isto be used by the consumer to send this notification to the person whohas received funds, then the operator of cell phone 802 a will operatethe “Notified” button UI 826. Thereafter, process flow #6 will beactivated in method 800.

Process flow #6 in method 800 shows that there will be a ‘push’ textmessage (e.g.; SMS) via the smart client which will auto launch arendering on the receiver's cell phone 802 b. The rendering on cellphone 802 b can be, for example, an audible phrase such as “You've GotMoney!” Stated otherwise, the receiver's consumer wireless client 802 bwill have an auto launch rendering on the smart client applicationrunning on cell phone 802 b which will allow the user of the cellulartelephone to be notified of the arrival of under by audibly hearing thephrase “You've Got Money!” rendered by cell phone 802 b.

Peer-to-Peer or Person-to-person payment seen in method 800 of FIG. 8allows the payment gateway 808 to communicate with the bank that issuedan account to the consumer who will be receiving funds, particularlyissuer bank 804 b which corresponds to the receiver's consumer wirelessclient 802 b. The consumer having the account issued by issuer 804 b canhave their funds loaded instantly. This instantaneous loading ofreceived funds from one account into another account can be accomplishedthrough a web service that might use a protocol such as HTTPS\SOAP.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary method 900 for making a purchase at an onlinee-commerce web service using a mobile wireless client 902. Before hand,account data for an open loop gift card is input into the mobilewireless client 902.

Method 900 illustrates a series of chronological user interface (UI)displays on consumer wireless client 902. A consumer operates wirelessclient 902 for each UI seen in method 900 in order to conduct atransaction with the online merchant through their web servicese-commerce application. Method 900 begins with UI 920 in which aconsumer enters a telephone number into a field on UI 920. In this case,the telephone number being entered is the phone number of the consumerwireless client 902. Thereafter, the consumer operates the button “GetChallenge” on UI 920 to move through process flow #1 to UI 922.

In UI 922, a challenge number is displayed on the display screen of UI922. The consumer is expected to enter a response to the challenge inthe open field seen in UI 922. The consumer uses the key pad of theircellular phone 902 to enter the response and then activates the “Next”button on UI 922.

Process flow number #2 in FIG. 9 takes method 900 to UI 926 at which achallenge number is entered by the consumer operating the consumerwireless client 902. Also, a personal identification number (PIN) isentered by the cell phone 902 on UI 926. Thereafter, the consumeroperates the button “Next” in UI 926 to take method 900 on process flow#3 to UI 924.

UI 924 allows the consumer to pick a particular internet address of ane-commerce Website of an ‘on-line’ merchant with whom, and at which, atransaction is to be conducted. This step, for UI 924, however isoptional, and the user moves from UI 926 by activating the button “Next”to move from UI 924 through process flow #4 to UI 928.

UI 928 shows a rendering on cell phone 902 that depicts the selectedaddress that of the on-line merchant “www.Amazon.com”, at which apurchase is sought in the amount of $300 from this merchant by theconsumer operating cell phone 902. To confirm this transaction, and theamount thereof, with this merchant, the consumer activates the button“Next” on UI 928 to move method 900 through process flow #5 to UI 930.

At UI 930, the consumer enters a response to confirm that the purchaseis to be completed or otherwise finalized. This purchase is thenconfirmed on UI 930 via a confirmation code seen in UI 930 as “369023”in a data entry field. To confirm this data entry, the consumeractivates the button “OK” on UI 930.

Following the entry of the response code in the data entry field on UI930, method 900 moves through process flow #6 to payment gateway 908.Payment gateway 908 interacts with transaction handler/payment processor906 before method 900 proceeds to process flow #7.

After process flow #7, UI 932 is displayed on cell phone 902. UI 932displays “Your Challenge” as “12962A”. To this challenge, the consumeris expected to enter a response via a data entry field on UI 932. Theentry made into the data entry field shown on UI 932 is “369023”. Toconfirm this data entry on UI 932, the consumer operates the button“Next” to move through process flow #8 to UI 934. At UI 934, theconsumer can select the shipping address to which the purchase made atthe merchant “www.Amazon.com” is to be shipped. Here, UI 934 shows thatthe shipping address is “7011 W Parmer Ln, #833, Austin, Tex. 78729.” Ifthis shipping address displayed on UI 934 is correct, then the consumerselects the button “Submit” to move method 900 along process flow #10which indicated the interaction with consumer wireless client 902. Thereis an interaction between UI 934 and payment gateway 908 as well astransaction handler/payment processor 906. The interaction between UI934 of cell phone 902 and payment gateway 908 will preferably be in theprotocol of SOAP/HTTPS as seen in process flow #9.

Following UI 934, process flow #10 signifies that the transaction hasbeen authorized between the merchant and the consumer, the transactionis confirmed, and the amount of the transaction can be deducted from theaccount for the open loop gift card. As such, method 900 is an exemplaryimplementation of a consumer operating a cell phone to conduct an onlinepurchase with an online merchant where the purchase is a non-cashtransaction conducted upon an account.

Method 900 seen in FIG. 9 advantageously provides the on-line merchantwith the benefit of a payment gateway that authenticates the consumer'scell phone, thus likely incurring low fraud liability or exposure fromthe transaction processor/handler 908 within the payment processingsystem. The consumer receives the benefit of a fast checkout when makingsuch online purchases which speed is enabled by access to an addressbook for the merchant as well as for the consumer's shipping address. Ascan be seen in method 900, there is a two factor authenticationincluding both the user's personal identification number (PIN) as wellas the authentication through the mobile device operated by the consumer(see consumer wireless client 902). Optionally, method 900 canincorporate a digital signature using a cryptic graphic feature.

FIG. 10 shows a method 1000 in which a consumer can operate a cell phoneor other mobile communicator to manage their accounts issued to them byissuing banks. Account data for an open loop gift card is input into thecell phone as shown at 1016, such as by installing a removable open loopgift card in the cell phone so as to be read by same.

Seen from FIG. 10, a consumer wireless client 1002 moves through aprocess flow #1 of method 1000 to a user interface (UI) 1020. UI 1020shows the display that permits the consumer operating cell phone 1002 toselect one of three different accounts that are rendered on UI 1020. Asseen in FIG. 10, UI 1020 shows the first account as being “Wells Fargo123”, the second account as being “BOFA2”, and third account as being“Chase1”. As those of ordinary skill in the relevant arts willunderstand, the three accounts listed on UI 1020 are identifiers knownpossibly only to the consumer for the particular accounts and thecorresponding issuer thereof to the consumer.

The selection of the “Next” button on UI 1020 moves method 1000 throughprocess flow #2 to US 1022. UI 1022 displays the relevant informationabout the account selected in UI 1020. As seen in FIG. 10, UI 1022 liststhe virtual account number as being 1234567890123456, the correspondingPIN for that account being “1234”, and the wallet ID being the selectedcount which is “Wells Fargo 123” as seen from the selections availablein UI 1020. Following the visual confirmation to the consumer at UI1022, consumer can operate the “Next” button on UI 1022 such thatprocess 1000 moves along process flow #3 such that UI 1024 is displayedupon cell phone 1002. UI 1024 allows the consumer to enter threedifferent data fields.

The first data field on UI 1024 is the date of expiration oftransactions that are to be conducted on the selected account using thevirtual account number. As seen in UI 1024, the first field data entryis Dec. 1, 2007. The second data entry field is the number oftransactions that can be conducted between the present date and theexpiration date on the selected account using the virtual accountnumber. Here UI 1024 shows a maximum of five transactions have beenentered by the consumer. The last field is the maximum amount of eachtransaction which is to be permitted on the selected account using thevirtual account number. As seen in UI 1024, this amount is $500.Following the data entry of these different fields, the consumeractivates button “Done” on UI 1026. Upon such activation, method 1000moves along process flow #4 to display UI 1026 upon cell phone 1002.

UI 1026 permits the consumer to enter their virtual account number and aPIN previously displayed in UI 1022. Following the entry of these datainto the two data entry field on UI 1026, the user operates button“Submit” to move method 1000 along process flow #5 e seen in FIG. 10.

Process flow #5 seen in FIG. 10 involves interaction between the cellphone 1002 and a payment gateway 1008 of a transaction handler/paymentprocessor 1006. The communication between cell phone 1002 and thepayment gateway 1008 can use a variety of communication protocols.Preferably, the communication protocol will be “SOAP/HTTPS”.

Method 1000 seen in FIG. 10 is advantageous in that an account can bemanaged by a consumer without ever having to give a credit card numberto any merchant, be they a merchant contacted by the consumer online orcontacted by the consumer by telephone. Moreover, a consumer can changethe temporary virtual account number readily. Here, the virtual accountnumber will be a number that temporarily corresponds to the actualaccount number that the consumer was issued by an issuer. The changesthat can be made to the virtual account include the expiration date ofthat account, the number of the transactions that the consumer willpermitted to be conducted by the consumer with that temporarily accountnumber, the merchants that the consumer will not be permitted totransact with using that temporary account, etc. As such, the consumercan prevent many unauthorized uses of their real account with merchants,can prevent transactions having a currency amount above a consumer-setlimit, can prevent transactions beyond a given date, beyond a givenconsumer-set number of transactions, as well as numerous otherlimitations and thresholds that are known to those of ordinary skill inthe art though not necessarily seen in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 shows an exemplary method 1100 that allows a user to operatetheir cell phone to automatically pay bills after an initial set up.Account data for an open loop gift card is input into the cell phone1102 as shown at 1116, such as by installation of a removable open loopgift card into cell phone 1102 so as to be read by same. Consumerwireless client 1102 (e.g., cell phone) is operated by a consumer alongprocess flow #1 such that the cell phone 1102 displays user interface1120. UI 1120 displays the text “Generate permanent (never expire)automatic pay account number for auto bill pay” as a description of thefunction that is to be accomplished by the consumer using their cellphone 1102. If this is acceptable, then the consumer will activate the“Next” button on UI 1120. Upon such activation, method 1100 moves alongprocess flow #2 to UI 1122. UI 1122 allows the consumer to select one ofthree different accounts, rendered by way of their respectiveidentifiers, that the consumer wishes to use to indicate that a paymentis to be made automatically to that account. Upon a selection of one ofthe three different account identifiers at UI 1122, the consumeractivates the “Next” button. Upon such activation, method 1100 movesalong process flow #3 to allow the cell phone 1102 to render UI 1124.

UI 1124 shows a confirmation of the particulars of the account selectedby the consumer at UI 1122. The particular account depicted in UI 1124is seen via the rendering of “Your auto pay account: account:123456780123456; wallet id: Wells Fargo 123”. As can be seen from UI1234, the account identifier “Wells Fargo 123” was selected by theconsumer at UI 1122. Following the selection of the account at UI 1122,and the confirmation of the selected account at UI 1124, then the usercan activate the button “ok” on UI 1234. Upon such activation, method1100 moves along process flow #4 for an interaction of cell phone 1102with payment gateway 1108.

Payment gateway 1108 interacts with transaction handler/paymentprocessor 1106 to facilitate the automatic payment transaction with themerchant desired by the consumer who operates cell phone 1102. Paymentgateway 1108 communicates via the process flow #5 seen in FIG. 11 with amerchant 1126. In particular, merchant 1126 can be an electronic billpayment merchant who accepts electronic payment for amounts due on anaccount corresponding to the consumer that is operating consumerwireless client 1102. As seen in FIG. 11, the particular merchant thatis to be automatically paid is “www.verizonwireless.com”. Communicationbetween merchant 1126 and payment gateway 1108 will preferably be in acommunication protocol of “SOAP/HTTPS”, which may be desirable forreason of security and integrity. As such, method 1100 allows a consumerto change their association between automatic bill payments and the realaccount number or debit account number that they are using to make suchpayments. Also, the consumer can get an alert ahead of time if theaccount number issued to them by an issuer that they intend to use topay a bill is soon to expire. The consumer can also get alerts if therehas been an error as to any automatic payment that they wish to make.After initial setup, payment gateway 1108 can periodically makeautomatic payments of amounts owed to merchant 1126 using the accountdesignated by the consumer at UI 1122. As such, the consumer need notperiodically attend to manual paying of bills as a periodic chore, butrather can allow payment gateway 1108 to automatically pay differentmerchants after the set up seen in method 1100.

FIG. 12 shows an exemplary method 1200 by which a cell phone or otherportable mobile device for conducting transactions on an issued accountcan be activated securely. Other such mobile devices that may beactivated may be a smart card or a SIM card. Account data for an openloop gift card is input into the cell phone 1202 a as shown at 1216,such as by installing a removable card into cell phone 1202 a so as tobe read by same.

Method 1200 depicted in FIG. 12 begins when a consumer 1230 enterscredentials and a personal information number (PIN) at process flow #1.These data are entered interactively with a mobile phone, such asconsumer wireless client 1202 a. Following the entry of the credentialsand the PIN, process flow #2 proceeds to allow consumer wireless client1202 a to send the credentials and the PIN to a payment gateway 1208seen in FIG. 12.

Payment gateway 1208 validates the credentials and the PIN and thenhashes or otherwise obscures these data including the credentials andany other data. Payment gateway 1208 also interacts with transactionhandler/payment processor 1206. Following the obscuring or hashing ofthe credentials and other data, process flow #3 seen in FIG. 12 returnsa hashed message digest from electronic wallet details and a dynamic keypair to the consumer wireless client 1202 b seen in FIG. 12. Thewireless client 1202 a may be different than the mobile device 1202 b,such as when the mobile device 1202 b is a smart card, or a SIM card andmobile device 1202 a is a cell phone. Alternatively, the activatedmobile device 1202 a may be the same as the activated mobile device 1202b. Following the receipt of the hashed message digest, the electronicwallet details, and a dynamic key pair by consumer mobile device 1202B,method 1200 proceeds through process flow #4 to interact with an issuer1204 who issued the account number to the consumer 1230.

As can be seen from FIG. 12, payment gateway 1208 is able to validatethe credentials received from consumer wireless client 1202 a so thatthey can be obscured through a hashing algorithm. As such, the consumerto whom the account has been issued by an issuer can avoid violation ofprivacy by insuring that no such private information is stored on theircell phone, SIM card or smart card. For instance, the PIN entered atprocess flow #2 need not be stored on the mobile device. As such, if amobile device, such as a cell phone, is stolen from the consumer,private information about accounts, access codes, and other suchcredentials can not be reversed engineered or otherwise removed from themobile device because that information is not stored on the mobiledevice. Rather, any such information has been obscured by a hashingalgorithm performed in conjunction with payment gateway 1208 and/ortransaction handler/payment processor 1206.

FIG. 13 shows an exemplary method 1300 that allows the authentication ofa mobile device to interact in a payment processing system. Account datafor an open loop gift card is input into the cell phone 1302 as shown at1316, such as by installing a removable card into cell phone 1302 so asto be read by same.

Method 1300 begins with a consumer 1330 entering a valid PIN into aconsumer wireless client 1302. By way of example, client 1302 can be acell phone. As such, cell phone 1302 executes a transaction applicationthat allows consumer 1320 to make a maximum of three tries to enter avalid personal information number (PIN). If the consumer 1330 hasexceeded the number of tries to enter a valid PIN, then the cell phone1302 is prohibited from further attempts by consumer 1303 toauthenticate the cell phone for use in conducting transactions.

If consumer 1330 enters a valid PIN in process flow #1 into cell phone1302, then method 1300 proceeds through process flow #2 to interact witha payment gateway 1308. Subsequent to the conducting of a transactionbetween a consumer and a merchant, or other such transactions upon anaccount issued to the consumer, a dynamic key and a static messagedigest is sent back to cell phone 1302 through process flow #2. Thedynamic key and static message digest are sent from payment gateway 1308back to cell phone 1302. The dynamic key and static message digest arederived by payment gateway 1308 by interaction with transactionhandler/payment processor 1306. The security inherent in making sure thedynamic key and static message are sent to cell phone 1302 at the end ofevery transaction conducted by consumer 1330 ensures properauthentication, safety and security of financial transactions. Withthese are lower probabilities of fraudulent transactions conducted withcell phone 1302. Stated otherwise, the consumer is not permitted to usethe cell phone 1302 to conduct a transaction unless the consumer enterthe proper PIN, and the consumer will be prohibited from suchtransactions if they can not enter the valid PIN after a maximum numberof tries, for instance three attempts as are seen in FIG. 13.

The Payment Processing System

FIG. 14 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary payment processingsystem 1400 within which the exemplary methods and process of FIGS. 1-3may be practiced. As will be readily understood by persons of ordinaryskill in payment processing systems, a transaction such as a paymenttransaction in a payment processing system can include participationfrom different entities that are each a component of the paymentprocessing system. The exemplary payment processing system 1400 includesan issuer 1404 such as the issuer; a transaction handler 1406, such asthe transaction handler; an acquirer 1408 such as the acquirer; amerchant 1410 such as the merchant; and a consumer 1402 such as theconsenting consumer. The acquirer 1408 and the issuer 1404 cancommunicate through the transaction handler 1406. The merchant 1410,such as the utility provider, may utilize at least one POS that cancommunicate with the acquirer 1408, the transaction handler 1406, or theissuer 1404. Thus, the POS is in operative communication with thepayment processing system 1400.

Typically, a transaction begins with the consumer 1402 presenting anaccount number of an account (e.g., non-credit account) such as throughthe use of a computer terminal or a portable consumer device 1412 to themerchant 1410 to initiate an exchange for a good or service. Theconsumer 1402 may be an individual or a corporate entity. The consumer1402 may be an account holder of the account issued by the issuer 1404such as a joint account holder of the account or a person having accessto the account such as an employee of a corporate entity having accessto a corporate account. The portable consumer device 1412 may include apayment card, a gift card, a smartcard, a smart media, a payroll card, ahealth care card, a wrist band, a machine readable medium containingaccount information, a keychain device such as the SPEEDPASS®commercially available from ExxonMobil Corporation or a supermarketdiscount card, a cellular phone, personal digital assistant, a pager, asecurity card, a computer, an access card, a wireless terminal, or atransponder. The portable consumer device 1412 may include a volatile ora non-volatile memory to store information such as the account number ora name of the account holder.

The merchant 1410 may use an acceptance point device, such as a POS, toobtain account information, such as the indicator for the account (e.g.,the account number of the account), from the portable consumer device1412. The portable consumer device 1412 may interface with the POS usinga mechanism including any suitable electrical, magnetic, or opticalinterfacing system such as a contactless system using radio frequency, amagnetic field recognition system, or a contact system such as amagnetic stripe reader. The POS sends a transaction authorizationrequest to the issuer 1404 of the portable consumer device 1412.Alternatively, or in combination, the portable consumer device 1412 maycommunicate with the issuer 1404, the transaction handler 1406, or theacquirer 1408.

The issuer 1404 may submit an authorize response for the transaction viathe transaction handler 1406. Authorization includes the issuer 1404, orthe transaction handler 1406 on behalf of the issuer 1404, authorizingthe transaction in connection with instructions of the issuer 1404, suchas through the use of business rules. The transaction handler 1406 maymaintain a log or history of authorized transactions. Once approved, themerchant 1410 can record the authorization and allow the consumer 1402to receive the good or service.

The merchant 1410 may, at discrete periods, such as the end of the day,submit a list of authorized transactions to the acquirer 1408 or othercomponents of the payment processing system 1400 for clearing andsettling. The transaction handler 1406 may compare the submittedauthorized transaction list with its own log of authorized transactions.If a match is found, the transaction handler 1406 may route the clearingand settling request from the corresponding acquirer 1408 to thecorresponding issuer 1404 involved in each transaction. Once theacquirer 1408 receives the payment of the transaction from the issuer1404, it can forward the payment to the merchant 1410 less anytransaction costs, such as fees. If the transaction involves a debit orpre-paid card, the acquirer 1408 may choose not to wait for the initialpayment prior to paying the merchant 1410.

There may be intermittent steps in the foregoing process, some of whichmay occur simultaneously. For example, the acquirer 1408 can initiatethe clearing and settling process, which can result in payment to theacquirer 1408 for the amount of the transaction. The acquirer 1408 mayrequest from the transaction handler 1406 that the transaction becleared and settled.

It should be understood implementations can be in the form of controllogic, in a modular or integrated manner, using software, hardware or acombination of both. The steps of a method, process, or algorithmdescribed in connection with the implementations disclosed herein may beembodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by aprocessor, or in a combination of the two.

The various steps or acts in a method or process may be performed in theorder shown, or may be performed in another order. Additionally, one ormore process or method steps may be omitted or one or more process ormethod steps may be added to the methods and processes. An additionalstep, block, or action may be added in the beginning, end, orintervening existing elements of the methods and processes. Based on thedisclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate other ways and/or methods for variousimplements.

It is understood that the examples and implementations described hereinare for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications orchanges in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the artand are to be included within the spirit and purview of this applicationand scope of the appended claims.

1. A wireless mobile communications apparatus comprising: a card readerconfigured to removably receive a data bearing card into a cardinstalled position thereof; a display; an input device; wirelesscommunications apparatus; memory for storing instructions and data; anda computing apparatus, wherein when the instructions in the memory areexecuted by the computing apparatus, the computing apparatus: when thecard reader is in the installed position thereof: reads, using the cardreader, information encoded in memory of the data bearing card; derives,from the information encoded in the memory of the data bearing card, anidentifier for an account issued by an issuer; and transmits, using thewireless communications apparatus, the identifier for the account;receives, using the wireless communications apparatus, in response tothe transmission of the identifier for the account, a total currencyamount of a transaction with a merchant being conducted on the accountby use of the wireless mobile communications apparatus; renders, usingthe display, a prompt requesting authorization of withdrawal of thetotal currency amount for the transaction from the account; receives,from the input device, in response to the rendered prompt, an indicatoras to an approval of the requested authorization for the withdrawal ofthe total currency amount for the transaction from the account;transmits, using the wireless communications apparatus, informationcorresponding to the indicator; receives, using the wirelesscommunications apparatus, in response to the transmission of theinformation corresponding to the indicator, a remaining currency balancein the account; and renders, using the display, in response thereceiving of the remaining currency balance in the account, theremaining currency balance in the account.
 2. The wireless mobilecommunications apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein: the card readercomprises a magnetic strip card reader; and the data bearing cardcomprises a planar substrate having a surface with a magnetic strip. 3.The wireless mobile communications apparatus as defined in claim 1,wherein: the card reader comprises a bar code reader; and the databearing card comprises a planar substrate having a surface having barcode thereon; and the information encoded in the memory of the databearing card is encoded in the bar code.
 4. The wireless mobilecommunications apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the wirelesscommunications apparatus comprises: short range communicationsapparatus; and cellular telephony communications apparatus.
 5. Thewireless mobile communications apparatus as defined in claim 4, whereinthe short range communications apparatus is configured for: thetransmitting of the identifier for the account; and the transmitting ofthe information corresponding to the indicator.
 6. The wireless mobilecommunications apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the short rangecommunications apparatus is configured for communications less thanabout three hundred meters.
 7. The wireless mobile communicationsapparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the card reader is furtherconfigured to removably receive the data bearing card in a form factorcomprising a substrate substantially comprising paper having a surfacethereon the memory of the data bearing card.
 8. The wireless mobilecommunications apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the deriving ofthe identifier for an account issued by the issuer further comprisedecrypting the encoded information read from the memory of the databearing card to form the identifier for the account.
 9. The wirelessmobile communications apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein: the cardreader is further configured to encode information in the memory of thedata bearing card; and the receiving of the total currency amount of thetransaction being conducted on the account further comprises encoding,with the card reader, the received remaining currency balance in theaccount in the memory of the data bearing card
 10. The wireless mobilecommunications apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein the instructionsfurther comprise balance inquiry instructions, which when executed bythe computing apparatus, the computing apparatus: when the card readeris in the installed position thereof: receives, from the input device,an indicator corresponding to a demand balance inquiry; and reads, inresponse to the receipt of the indicator corresponding to the demandbalance inquiry, the encoded remaining currency balance in the accountin the memory of the data bearing card; and and renders, on the display,in response to the reading of the encoded remaining currency balance inthe account in the memory of the data bearing card, a displayrepresenting the remaining currency balance in the account as encoded inthe memory of the data bearing card.
 11. The wireless mobilecommunications apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the card readeris further configured to removably receive the data bearing card in aform factor comprising a non-reloadable gift card for which theinformation encoded in the memory thereof does not include: a currencyamount; or an identity of a user of the wireless mobile communicationsapparatus who is conducting the transaction on the account with themerchant.
 12. The wireless mobile communications apparatus as defined inclaim 11, wherein neither the transmitting of the identifier for theaccount nor the transmitting of the information corresponding to theindicator includes a transmission of data corresponding to either: acurrency amount; or an identifier for a cardholder of the gift card. 13.The wireless mobile communications apparatus as defined in claim 1,wherein: the indicator as to an approval of the requested authorizationfor the withdrawal of the total currency amount for the transaction fromthe account is a password required for access to currency in theaccount; and the transmitting of the information corresponding to theindicator includes the transmission of the password.
 14. A cellulartelephone comprising: a magnetic strip card reader having a cardinstalled position thereof and configured for removably installing aplanar substrate having a surface with a magnetic strip thereon into thecard installed position of the magnetic strip card reader; a displayscreen; an input device; cellular telephony communications apparatus;short range communications apparatus configured for communicationshaving a range of not more than about 300 meters; memory for storinginstructions and data; and a computing apparatus, wherein when thecomputing apparatus executes the instructions stored in the memory, thecomputing apparatus: when the magnetic strip card reader is in theinstalled position thereof: reads information encoded in the magneticstrip on the planar substrate; derives, from the information encoded inthe magnetic strip on the planar substrate, an identifier for an accountissued by an issuer; transmits, using the short range communicationsapparatus, the identifier for the account; receives, using the shortrange communications apparatus, in response to the transmission of theidentifier for the account, a total currency amount of a transactionwith a merchant being conducted on the account by use of the cellulartelephone; renders, on the display screen, a prompt requestingauthorization of a withdrawal of the total currency amount for thetransaction from the account; receives, from the input device inresponse to the rendered prompt, an indicator as to an approval of therequested authorization for the withdrawal of the total currency amountfor the transaction from the account; transmits, using the using theshort range communications apparatus, information corresponding to theindicator; and receives, using the short range communications apparatus,in response to the transmission of the information corresponding to theindicator, a remaining currency balance in the account; and renders, onthe display screen in response the receiving of the remaining currencybalance in the account, the remaining currency balance in the account.15. The cellular telephone as defined in claim 14, wherein the shortrange communications apparatus is further configured for a communicationprotocol selected from the group consisting Near Field Communications(NFC), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, IrDA, and a combination thereof.
 16. Thecellular telephone as defined in claim 14, wherein: the magnetic stripcard reader is further configured to encode information in the magneticstrip on the planar substrate; and the receiving of the remainingcurrency balance in the account further comprises encoding, with themagnetic strip card reader, the received remaining currency balance inthe information in the magnetic strip on the planar substrate.
 17. Thecellular telephone as defined in claim 16, wherein the instructionsfurther comprise balance inquiry instructions, which when executed bythe computing apparatus, the computing apparatus: when the magneticstrip card reader is in the installed position thereof: receives, fromthe input device, an indicator corresponding to a demand balanceinquiry; and reads, in response to the receipt of the indicatorcorresponding to the demand balance inquiry, the encoded remainingcurrency balance in the information in the magnetic strip on the planarsubstrate; and and renders, on the display screen, in response to thereading of the encoded remaining currency balance in the information inthe magnetic strip on the planar substrate, a display representing theremaining currency balance in the account as encoded in the memory ofthe data bearing card.
 18. The cellular telephone as defined in claim14, wherein: the card reader is further configured to removably receivethe data bearing card in a form factor comprising a non-reloadable giftcard for which the information encoded in the magnetic strip on theplanar substrate does not include: a currency amount; or an identity ofa user of the cellular telephone conducting the transaction with themerchant on the account; and neither the transmitting of the identifierfor the account nor the transmitting of the information corresponding tothe indicator includes a transmission of data corresponding to either: acurrency amount; or an identity of a user of the cellular telephone whois conducting the transaction with the merchant on the account.
 19. Thecellular telephone as defined in claim 14, wherein: the indicator as toan approval of the requested authorization for the withdrawal of thetotal currency amount for the transaction from the account is a passwordrequired for access to currency in the account; and the transmitting ofthe information corresponding to the indicator includes the transmissionof the password.
 20. A World Wide Web (Web) enabled wireless mobilecommunications apparatus comprising: means for reading a data bearingcard and configured to removably receive the data bearing card into acard installed position thereof, a user interface including: means fordisplaying; and means for receiving input; means for transreceivingwireless communications over the Internet; means for storinginstructions and data; and computing means for executing theinstructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by thecomputing means, the computing means: executes a Web browser providinginteractive communications with the Web; when the means for reading adata bearing card is in the installed position thereof: reads, using themeans for reading a data bearing card, information encoded in memory ofthe data bearing card; derives, from the information encoded in thememory of the data bearing card, an identifier for an account issued byan issuer; and transmits, using the wireless communications apparatus,the identifier for the account for delivery to a logical Internetaddress; receives, from a logical Internet address, using the means fortransreceiving wireless communications, in response to the transmissionof the identifier for the account, a total currency amount of atransaction with a merchant being conducted on the account by use of thewireless mobile communications apparatus; renders, using the means fordisplaying, a prompt requesting authorization of withdrawal of the totalcurrency amount for the transaction from the account; receives, from themeans for receiving input of the user interface, in response to therendered prompt, an indicator as to an approval of the requestedauthorization for the withdrawal of the total currency amount for thetransaction from the account; transmits, using the means fortransreceiving wireless communications, information corresponding to theindicator for delivery to a logical Internet address; receives, from alogical Internet address, using the means for transreceiving wirelesscommunications, in response to the transmission of the informationcorresponding to the indicator, a remaining currency balance in theaccount; and renders, using the means for displaying, in response thereceiving of the remaining currency balance in the account, theremaining currency balance in the account.